Meet Dani Murphy, Co-Founder of Just Add Joy
Aug 30th
Dani Murphy has over a decade of creative and strategy roles under her belt, but like many people we interview, her path into the podcast industry has been a bit unconventional. After a brief stint in journalism, she worked as an advertising creative where she worked on brand-focused concepts.
However, it was leading the Creative Strategy for the partnerships team at a media agency when she discovered the podcast space allowed her to create adverts and branded content that people genuinely wanted to spend time with. Having found her niche in media partnerships, her path led to working at Acast. “I’ve been a radio and podcast geek from day one,” she says “so I was thrilled to specialise in my favourite type of media”.
Now, Dani has taken that podcast geek knowledge into her work as the Co-Founder of Just Add Joy, the UK’s only podcast-led creative agency. Francesca Turauskis caught up with Dani to find out more about creative strategies, shaking up the cultural landscape and whether there is a ‘discoverability problem’ in podcasting…
FT: As the lead in the creative department at Acast I expect you worked with a wide range of shows on brand-related content. Are there different strategies you have to use for different shows?
DM: My background in advertising really instilled in me the power of the big idea – the kind of evergreen, channel-agnostic concepts that can thrive anywhere. While there are plenty of brilliant tactical or media-specific ideas out there, I believe the most exciting and effective campaigns are those where you can tell a brand story across multiple channels. That’s what I brought to Acast as Creative Director.
I trained the creative team there to shift gears, from pitching show-specific tactics to developing big concepts that could live, breathe, and adapt across different shows. The beauty of this approach is twofold: not only can each creator bring the big idea to life in a way that’s unique to them, but the core idea remains strong even if a client wants to switch up the shows or a creator decides to step back. It’s about having one strategy and idea that works for the brand, executed in multiple different ways depending on the creators involved.
FT: Do you have any examples of that in practice that you could share?
A good example of this is the Klarna Money Talks card game. Klarna wanted more people to talk about money, so instead of scripting a load of sponsorship reads for creators we created a conversation card game. Creators played the game in their shows, bringing to life the talking points in their own way. We had vulnerable conversations, unexpected confessions, hilarious anecdotes – something that we just simply wouldn’t be able to achieve if we were trying to sell in scripts or other show-specific tactics.
Kate and I founded Just Add Joy to take this approach even further, working with an even broader scope of shows, unrestricted by networks or trading deals. We come up with big ideas that resonate with both brands and audiences, and then the creators bring them to life in the way that suits them best.
I love this way of working. There are few better feelings than watching an idea take several new leases of life when creators get their hands on them.
FT: You mentioned your own creative agency, Just Add Joy, which is podcast-led. Is that unusual for creative agencies?
There are plenty of podcast media agencies out there, most of them are focused on selling media spots and spaces. But nobody was selling ideas the way a true creative agency should.
You’ve got creative agencies that specialise in social media, others that are all about AI, and the more traditional ones that focus on TV. But there was this glaring gap in the market for a creative agency that specialises in podcast media.
Unlike those other agencies however, we’re not boxed into the podcast medium. That’s because we don’t believe podcasting is a medium. Even the dictionary can’t keep up with what a podcast is these days, whether it’s on YouTube, on Twitch, or live shows or on TV. Our podcast-led specialism means we focus on how best to work with creators to bring the big ideas to life.
Work with podcast creators and your ideas can genuinely live anywhere.
FT: What is it about podcasts (and podcast creators) that you love to work with?
The best thing about podcast media is that it doesn’t come with a rulebook – frankly, there aren’t any rules. It’s an open space where creativity can genuinely thrive, and we’re just beginning to explore what’s possible. Jamie Laing talks about podcasting being still in its black-and-white era, and I couldn’t agree more. We’re only at the start of discovering its potential.
Look how quickly podcasts have shaken up the cultural landscape. Take the most recent general election, for example – it was dubbed ‘the first podcast election,’ which really highlights how influential podcasting has become. Podcasts are making us smarter, more informed. They bring depth and nuance that’s often missing elsewhere, and that’s why I find them so exciting to work with.
What’s more, podcasts have uncovered some incredibly sharp talent that might never have broken through on TV or social media. These are fresh voices and perspectives that are changing the way we think, talk, and engage with the world. They’re not just influential – they’re more influential than traditional influencers and celebrities.
FT: There is a belief that podcasts have a ‘discoverability problem’. Do you agree?
Is there a podcast ‘discoverability problem’? Sure, but let’s also admit that content discovery is a mess everywhere. I saw a report the other day that said it takes us, on average, over 11 minutes just to find something to watch because we’re swamped with choices. Cory Doctorow calls this “enshittification”: platforms that once worked for users now prioritise profit, drowning us in an avalanche of stuff that’s harder and harder to sift through.
The podcast world is crowded, but no more than any other space. The real problem is that Indie creators are battling against big media brands, with deep pockets.
This is why I think podcast creators need to embrace social. As podcasts break out into more diverse channels, they actually become easier to discover. Especially on interest-algorithms like TikTok where your content is more likely to find its tribe.
In this era, focus is everything. You can’t be everything to everyone, so don’t even try. Instead, perfect what you do best and deliver it to a loyal, engaged audience. As content options keep multiplying, taste becomes crucial – it’s the new currency. We don’t just need more creators; we need curators who can sift through the dirt and find the gems for us.
Audio producer Mia Lobel recently floated a brilliant idea: what if we curated podcast feeds, tailoring content to specific tastes? It would make discovering new shows a lot easier, and open up fresh ways to monetise shows.
I also loved the fact that Reading and Leeds Festival had its own podcast stage this year – what a great way to discover new creators. The more we take notes from other entertainment forms the more podcasting will thrive.
FT: Why do you think that the idea that podcasts are particularly difficult to discover is such a big belief?
The UK Podcast Survey highlighted that a significant portion of potential listeners stop listening or never start because they can’t find content that interests them, don’t know how to access podcasts, or find the medium inconvenient – so I can’t say that there aren’t barriers.
But I think the conversation about discoverability obscures the real problem.
We’ve somehow convinced ourselves that if we create something amazing, the audience will just find it. But that’s not how it works in any other industry. Byron Sharp, in his book How Brands Grow, makes it crystal clear: if you want to grow, you’ve got to reach far and wide – and that takes money. We wouldn’t expect a consumer brand to blow up without some serious marketing behind it, yet we keep hoping podcast brands will magically take off without spending a penny.
And that’s where it gets tricky for indie creators. They’re stuck in this catch-22: they need to grow to attract advertisers, but without upfront investment in marketing, that growth just isn’t happening. No growth means no money, and no money means staying hidden in the crowd.
What we really need is more cross-category learning (eg. brand growth principles and marketing 101) and a real commitment to investing in podcasts like we would in any brand. It’s not enough to hope that word of mouth will do the trick. We need to put some serious muscle – and money – behind these shows so they can actually reach the people who’d love them.
FT: Speaking of learning, what are you most looking forward to at the International Women’s Podcast Festival in October?
DM: I’m absolutely buzzing to dive into the whole community vibe of the International Women’s Podcast Festival. It’s going to be magical. But if I’m being honest, the highlight for me has to be Sarah Koenig’s appearance. It’s been 10 years since Serial – the podcast that put podcasts on the map – and I can’t wait to hear her reflections and insights on how the landscape has evolved since then. To hear directly from the person who shaped modern podcasting as we know it? That’s a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, and I’m here for it.
—
If you want to learn more about creative forms of advertising, Dani will be presenting the Creating Brilliant Ads workshop alongside Kate Mander at this year’s International Women’s Podcast Festival on 4th October 2024. Tickets are on sale now.
Don’t miss the once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to see Sarah Koenig! Join us at the Southbank Centre, London, on Thursday 3rd October at 7.30pm. Find out more and get your tickets on the Southbank Centre website.